We announce our partnership with the Peace Corps, discuss welcoming new members, and try some Nepalese lentil patties.

Hands in Outreach is an educational sponsorship program for inner-city girls living in extreme poverty in Kathmandu, Nepal. Dining for Women's $44,290 grant will fund the "Be Part of Her Dream" project to benefit mothers and their daughters. "Be Part of Her Dream" establishes the first cash-transfer program of its kind in Nepal to help mothers break an endless cycle of poverty. By providing the mothers of the girls with education in basic financials and literacy, helping them gain critical citizenship documents and begin savings accounts, Hands in Outreach is allowing mothers and daughters to embark on a journey of empowerment and leadership.

Our Conversation with Hands in Outreach will be posted here by April 1st.

Sustained Funding Grantee: Health in Harmony

The mission of Health in Harmony is to engage community-led solutions for human health and the health of our planet. In September 2012, DFW gave Health in Harmony a $33,000 featured grant to support its "Goats for Widows" project in Indonesia. As part of this project, pairs of goats were distributed to the widows in the community, thus providing the household with a reliable stream of income, raising the widows' status in the society, and reducing deforestation.

Health in Harmony will now receive a sustained funding grant of $20,000 per year for three years to support its "Women Catalysts for Conservation" project in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The main goal of this project is to help women achieve their potential as catalysts for rainforest conservation by creating opportunities for local women to lead and drive forward conservation and health activities that benefit their broader communities.

Nepali cuisine is influenced by neighboring India and Tibet, as well as the indigenous Newari culture that exists in the Kathmandu Valley. My recipes for this month focus on contributions from the Newari tribe. Typical Newari dishes include Chowela (grilled meat) and Woh (lentil patties). I've tested both of these recipes and had great success with both of them.

How do you think tying cash transfers to literacy classes will make a difference in the lives of women in Nepal?

How do you think having daughters as literacy partners for their mothers will impact the program?

What could the long term effects be of empowering women in a patriarchal culture?

Updating Your Chapter Preferences

Thank you to everyone who updated their chapter preferences in our recent survey. It is important for our volunteer Regional Leaders and Mentors to have up-to-date information on whether your chapter is open or closed to new members. This tells them whether or not they can refer potential new members to your chapter.

If you did not receive this survey, or have not yet participated, please email your Regional Leader or Mentor. If your chapter preference changes at any time – for example, if your chapter grows to the point where you cannot accept new members – please let your Mentor or Regional Leader know right away.

March 8th was a proud and historic day for DFW as we announced our first Strategic Partnership with a $100,000 grant to the Peace Corps' Let Girls Learn Fund and participated, with First Lady Michelle Obama, in a special event for International Women's Day. This is an important milestone for DFW and we hope that you will discuss it at your next chapter meeting. To assist you, we have prepared these Key Talking Points and FAQs. Please click on these links to review this information and share with your chapter members. If any additional questions arise, please email info@diningforwomen.org.

We would also appreciate your help in spreading the news through your local news media. If you have contacts with your local news media, please send them a copy of our news release. And be sure to tell them about your local chapter so they know there is a local connection.

In order to ensure that we communicate consistently across the organization, please refer all media inquiries to Wendy Frattolin, Communications & Membership Director, at wendy@diningforwomen.org. Wendy will then coordinate media interviews with our designated media spokespeople. Please let Wendy know if you contact any local media, or if you get any local media coverage.

By Wendy Frattolin, Communications & Membership Director
As you know, Dining for Women's goal is to grow to 20,000 members by the year 2020. Some people have asked how we plan to accommodate 20,000 new members into our nearly 400 existing chapters! Clearly, this is not possible. We know that, in order to meet our membership target, we will need to significantly increase our number of chapters. Promoting new chapters throughout the U.S. will be the main focus of our growth strategy over the next five years.

At the same time, we know there will be individuals who wish to join an existing chapter, rather than start their own. We will continue to make every effort to match these individuals with an existing DFW chapter. That is why it is so important that you make your chapter preferences (i.e. open or closed to accepting new members) known to your volunteer Regional Leader or Mentor.

As we generate increased interest in DFW – through our Peace Corps partnership and other initiatives – we need to welcome potential new chapters and members in a timely and consistent manner across our organization. Recently, we have taken some steps to streamline and standardize our responses to individuals interested in joining DFW. As we grow, we will continue to look for ways to improve this process and make it more efficient and responsive.

Our process for welcoming new members is largely dependent on our incredible team of volunteers in our regions: Regional Leaders, Mentors, and Chapter Leaders like you. We greatly appreciate all of the volunteer hours that are put into this process.

Since you have an important role to play in welcoming potential new members to your chapter, we thought it would be helpful for you to understand how the process works:

Banner Photo: Congratulations to the NC, Burlington-1 chapter on its fourth anniversary. The chapter began in October 2011 after book club members read Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This group does not share a meal, but chapter members spend time together learning about the project and the country and contribute what they would spend on a meal. The chapter has grown from 12 members at the first meeting to about 35 members. Chapter Leaders are Barbara Clawson and Ann Jennings.